Neo Ixis
by White Fire the Dragon
Summary: The Ixis Magicks are an illegal form of dark magic. There has only been one Ixis wizard in the world, Ixis Naugus, but now that he has returned with his apprentice, there are now... 6! Who are these other 4 wizards? It'll take Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, and maybe some help from Team Dark, to find out the secret to this mystery, or maybe the answer is right under their noses.
1. Prelude

_**Whoosh**_

"Oh, Hello."

"Good evening, my little acorn."

"Do you wanna have another tea party?"

"Not tonight."

"Aw."

"Why don't I tell you a story?"

"Oh, okay!"

"Now, just lay back and relax."

"What kind of story are you going to tell me tonight?"

"Well, I was thinking that tonight I could tell you a special story. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!"

"Hm… Alright. Here we go.

Once upon a time, in a land far far way, there were two races that were at war with each other. One race embraced the ways of a form of dark magic known as the Ixis Magicks. They lived to serve and follow their leader, the immortal Ixis Mogul. They strived to use their evil ways to rule the world with Mogul leading them with an iron fist. They were the Ixis wizards.

The other race was completely made up of echidnas. While the Ixis wizards embraced the ways of dark magic, _this_ race embraced the advancements of technology. They strived to protect the world from falling to the Ixis wizards. They used there highly advanced technology to fight back against the wizards' dark magic. They were the Albionites, also known as the Templar Knights of Albion.

As the war raged on, the Ixis wizards knew that they needed more troops to fight with. So they began "making" more. That is to say, they had children and raised them in the ways of the Ixis Magicks. In order for this work, the Ixis wizards had secret camps where wizards were forced to choose a mate and have children with them in order to create more warriors to fight in the war after they were properly trained. They even had them live in family safe houses in these camps; however, …

These children were never loved; they were never treated like family. To their parents, these children were nothing more than future soldiers. They were usually abused by their parents as a way to make them stronger and thought that it would make them more ruthless when they matured.

 _Years_ after the Ixis wizards made the camps the Albionites found out about their plans to make more soldiers and decided that they needed to act. They knew that if this plan had succeeded, then the Ixis Wizards would out number them hundreds to one. They knew that in order to keep the odds in their favor, they had to make sure that these future Ixis wizards never got the chance to fight. The way to ensure this… was to **exterminate** them. They had to stop them from ever reaching maturity.

The Albionites executed well planned out raids on all known Ixis camps, destroying every Ixis wizard there, young and old. Parents and children. All of them, no survivors. Only the best Albionites who could destroy without regret were assigned to this mission. The raids were… like something… out of a nightmare. Fire everywhere. Sounds of screaming adults and children.

The young wizards were… inexperienced but… formidable. They were strong despite their young age and little to no battle experience, but they fought viciously, just as they were raised and trained to fight. They did not care for their parents. They did not care for their siblings. They did not care for their fellow wizards. They were raised to care only about themselves and the destruction of their enemies. They managed to take out a few Albionites before falling themselves.

The Templar Knights couldn't let even the smallest infant live. They would have destroyed them all… if it weren't for one individual Knight. She was aiding her team raid a wizard family's home. Unlike the rest of the wizard dwellings, the parents seemed to be alone. After she and her team took care of them they were sent to search the rest of the house for the children.

While the rest of her team searched the rooms upstairs, she searched downstairs alone. After her team reported finding nothing, she was left to wonder where the children were hiding, and also why they were hiding.

"The rest of the wizard children attack without hesitation," she thought, "and _all_ of homes are supposed to have children. So why are _these_ children choosing to hide. Even if their afraid, aren't their parents supposed to _make_ them fight? This doesn't add up."

The lone echidna searched the entire lower region as her team awaited her at the entrance. She reported not finding anything yet, but she was still searching, until she came across a lone closet in the living room that she overlooked. She heard something inside and prepared for the worst. With her weapon set, she kicked the door open and took aim; however, despite how prepared she _thought_ she was, she was totally unprepared for what she saw.

Ixis wizards were raised to not care about their kin, and yet she was taken aback when she witnessed a lone Ixis child, a boy by the looks of it, jump up in front of his siblings, arms out stretched and a look of determination in his eyes. She looked behind him and saw another boy, who appeared to be younger than the one before the Knight, with his arms around a young girl, who appeared to be holding a wrapped bundle in her arms, a baby no doubt. Perhaps no older than an infant. The younger boy shared the same look of determination while the girl looked scared with her eyes going from the Knight to her siblings to the bundle and back again.

"I'm warning you," said the oldest before her, moving his arms and getting into a fighting stance, "If you want to hurt my family, you're going to have to get past me first! Do you hear me?! I won't let you hurt them!"

She was stunned to say the least; she didn't know that Ixis wizards could care so much for one another. The look of these children reminded her of her dream from before the war. She had always wanted a family of her own, and when she finally found love after joining the Templar Knights she thought that her dream would eventually come true after the war. That is, … until her beloved was killed in cold blood by an Ixis wizard.

It was because of that tragic event, that she thought she could go through with the extermination plan, because she had nothing left to lose. However, after looking into the young wizard's eyes, that is exactly what she saw. He knew that he had nothing to lose from protecting his family. So long as _they_ lived, he didn't care if _he_ had to die.

She began to raise her weapon and the boy raised his fists, but… she couldn't raise it to firing position. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to… finish the job. Looking into all of their eyes, she saw fear in them. Not fear for themselves, but… fear for each other. From underneath her visor, she could feel tears running down her face. She hadn't felt this way since before she lost the love of her life. She lowered her weapon.

The boy watched her suspiciously as she slowly removed the strap from around her body and lowered her weapon to the ground with her hands up. Just as she was getting up, her helmet created a static like noise and then a voice could be heard from it.

"Lieutenant!" said the voice from her helmet, clearly someone from her team. "Lieutenant, report!" She didn't know what to do, but she knew that if she didn't report something soon, then they would start to investigate. She raised her hand up to her helmet while the young wizard watched her every move, ready to fight if it came to that.

"Yes, sir," she said with her hand on some unseen button, "My apologies for not reporting in, I…" She looked to the children who were clearly waiting for her to finish the sentence. What would she do? Would she report them, or would she…? "I thought that I saw something," the boy gave her a dead serious look. "but it turned out to just be a rat, but I feel that I should keep searching the house. You all go on ahead, I'll report back when I'm finished."

"Understood, if you don't find anything we'll have to assume that the children were among those killed trying to escape. Then we'll proceed to burn what's left of this camp to the ground."

"Yes, sir. Understood, sir. Lieutenant Lia-na out." She removed her hand as the line went silent. The boy never took his eyes off her. She slowly raised both of her hands up to her head and began to remove her helmet. The boy readied himself for anything.

After her head was fully revealed, the children finally saw her true face. Not like the soldier who just kicked the door in, this woman… this **person** had a gentle face only flawed by the lines of dried tears that ran down her face from earlier. She lowered herself onto one knee and gave them all a gentle smile and said "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." But the boy up front never moved from his battle ready stance.

"Why should we listen to you?" he said. "You're one of **them**!"

Lia-na smiled at them and said, "You're right, from what I've done, you have no reason to trust me, but still believe me, I won't hurt you. You have my word." She placed a hand over her heart while reaching out with her other hand. The boy slowly and cautiously approached it and slowly reached out his own hand. The moment that she took his hand into hers, did he understand that she was truly honest.

Her hand was so warm and welcoming and her eyes held so much kindness. Never had he ever witnessed anybody like her in the camp, especially not an adult.

"Why?" he said to her while she stared curiously at him. "Why are you being… so nice to us? W-we're the enemy… aren't we?"

She shook her head and said, "You're not like the rest of the Ixis wizards. The other children that I… w—well… They all attacked me. I—I… am sorry, but…"

"You were just following orders?" She was surprised that the young wizard understood her so much as to finish the sentence. She nodded and he continued talking, " _We_ were ordered _to_ fight… but… we were also forbidden to care about one another." He looked back to his siblings and she looked too. They were still scared.

"You are not soldiers, you're just children."

"Our parents told us… we're just tools to be used to win the war and… nothing more."

She watched as tears then started running down the children's faces, and then she too felt more tears run down her own face.

"No you're not!" They all looked at her with wide eyes. "You are children. You don't deserve to be treated like that! You don't deserve to be with people… who don't love you."

"W—we've never been loved… by anybody but each other." Lia-na was surprised when the little girl spoke.

"And our parents would… punish us for it." This time the second boy spoke. She couldn't believe that people could be so cruel, even Ixis wizards. Punishing children just for feeling love.

Lia-na watched as the children started to silently weep. Even the oldest who tried his best to keep his composer but ultimately failed as he too began to shed some tears.

"What are your names?" she asked.

They all looked at her, they were unsure of how to respond. She _was_ Templar Knight after all. Then again, she was also _supposed_ to destroy them, but… she didn't.

"M—my name is…" said the oldest boy after a long minute of silence, "Tenebris."

"I-I'm…" said the second oldest boy, "Ventus."

"I'm… Amilliana, and… this is Millonius." Said the girl holding up the bundle enough for Lia-na to see the face of a sleeping infant. It slept so peacefully despite how loud the conversation had been earlier.

She smiled at the sleeping baby and then faced them all and said, "My name is Lia-na."

The younger children began to nervously smile at Lia-na, but Tenebris' face remained to be in a scowl. "So what now?" he asked. "Are you going to follow your orders and finally destroy us?"

Lia-na was surprised that he would bring that up, but then as she looked down at her helmet, she began to wonder the same thing. She was _supposed_ to destroy any and all Ixis wizards and children. But… how could she…? The rest of them were either like bred wild animals or reckless undertrained soldiers, but not _these_ children. Theywere special. They were smarter and more caring. They were _actual_ children.

She shook her head and said, "No."

"But won't they get mad at you if you don't?" asked Amilliana.

"Don't worry." Said Lia-na. "The others will most likely believe that you were already dealt with. So you can escape."

"But how are we _supposed_ to escape?" asked Tenebris. "They'll see us if we try to sneak out of camp on foot."

"Can't you walk through shadows like the others?"

"Only _I_ can. _They_ never learned how to shadow meld. Ventus might be able to go with me and take it the best, but shadow melding _still_ takes its toll on those not use to it, it's too dangerous for Amilliana to try, and Millonious probably won't survive it. He's **too** young."

"We could probably just wait until they're all gone." suggested Ventus.

"But then they'll burn down the entire camp-" Said Lia-na.

"Don't worry," said Amilliana "Tenebris can just use his fire magic to move the flames out of the way and Ventus can use his wind magic to-"

"That won't work either!" interrupted Tenebris. "The other Knights will probably see the fire and smoke moving, and even if they don't… there's nowhere else for us to go. We'll be all alone with no place to go."

Lia-na watched them as the children started to cry again. They knew that they wouldn't survive long on their own, as did she. They may have been wizards, but they were still only children after all, and she wouldn't allow these innocent children to meet the same fate as the other wizards. They needed a place where they would be safe. A place where they would be cared for and loved. They needed… a home.

In an effort to calm their tears she reached out both of her arms and wrapped them around the oldest child, bringing him into a loving embrace. This was something he had never witnessed from an adult in all his life. It felt so warm, so safe, so… loving. It only made him cry more as he wrapped his own arms around the echidna woman.

She looked up to his other siblings and reached out her other arm toward them. They were nervous at first, but they eventually gave in to the request joining in the loving embrace. For years, Lia-na dreamed of this. Having children of her own to embrace in such a way. They just sat there for a moment, crying while embracing each other. She then smiled and said, "Come with me."

Needless to say they were all taken aback by her request. "Wh-what?!" asked Tenebris.

"Come with me. I can take care of you."

"Y—you mean it?!" asked Amilliana.

Lia-na nodded.

"B-but I don't understand." Said Tenebris. "We're the enemy, why would an **Albionite** want four young **Ixis wizards**? Why would you… want _us_?"

"Because I know that you deserve to be with a family that loves you and cares for you. I may not have much reason for you to trust me, let alone accept my offer, but if you do, I promise to treat you and take care of you the way that you should have from the beginning… with love."

Looking into her face the children knew that what she said was the honest truth. They were so overcome with joy that they embraced her once again with tear filled eyes, and she too was happy. Even Tenebris, who fought back his smile as best he could, but could hold back his tears of joy. Even Millonious somehow managed to smile while sleeping.

After reporting back to her fellow Albionites, Lia-na told the children what to do to escape without being seen. While she snuck Amilliana and Millonious out of the camp with her, Tenebris and Ventus used shadow melding to escape and follow them. Soon after, the entire camp went up in flames, but the four siblings were safe.

Lia-na hid them in her quarters and later asked her superiors to go on leave. After she was allowed this, she took her new children with her, where she then adopted them as her own, and they all lived together in a big house where they all lived happily ever after. The End."

" _(Yawn)_ That was good story, but a little scary."

"I'm sorry if I scared you, my little acorn."

"It's okay. At least it had a happy ending."

"Hm… yes, it did. Well, I think I kept you up long enough. Time for bed."

"Aw… are you going to leave again?"

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry. I'll be back again tomorrow night."

"Could you at least tuck me in?"

"Hm… I don't see why not."

"And kiss me goodnight?"

"I… suppose that a kiss on the forehead won't hurt."

 _ **Smooch**_

" _(Giggle)_ "

"Goodnight, my little acorn."

"Goodnight, Mr. Shadow Man."

 _ **Whoosh**_

 _ **Creek**_

"Sally? What are you still doing up?"

"My friend, Mr. Shadow Man, was just telling me a story."

"Ah, I see. Well _I_ think it's time that this "Mr. Shadow Man" left for the night. He probably has his own family to go home to."

"Don't worry, Daddy. He already left. I wish that you could meet him."

"Ah, well I'm sure that we will meet someday, dear. Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Daddy."

 _ **Creek**_

 _ **Click**_

"Heh-heh… That girl has some imagination."


	2. Chapter 1

It was a bright and shiny day in Green Hill Zone. Sonic the Hedgehog was out on one of his usual runs just enjoying the day.

"Ah, this is the life." He said while running. "No monsters, no Eggman, no random baddie plotting to take over the world… Nope, nothing could ruin **this** day."

Sonic soon entered a forest that he didn't recognize at first; however, as he began to look around, he noticed that it **_did_ ** look _somewhat_ familiar. He stopped and looked around. After bit of subconscious searching, his eyes soon fell on a small pool of water. As he approached the pool of water, he soon began to remember something. At first, he wasn't sure if it truly was what he thought it was. A minute later and it was confirmed, as a gold ring then sprung out of the water. He _had_ been here before. He stopped in front of the ring that had sprouted out of the water and picked it up.

He had seen Pools of Rings _before_ , but _this_ particular pool brought back memories. Memories that he would rather not think about; however, after he started thinking, he remembered something else, something **important**. He then began to make his way back home, ring in hand, slowly at first but then instantly sprinting into a run.

* * *

About a few minutes later, he had arrived at the nanite city of New Mobotropolis, his home. He quickly made his way to the King Frederick Airbase where his little brother, Miles "Tails" Prower, was busy working on his biplane, the Tornado.

"Yo, Tails!" He said upon entering the hanger.

"Hey, Sonic!" Responded Tails. "What are _you_ doing back so soon? I thought you'd be gone all day, knowing you."

"Yeah. Wasn't planning on showing up so soon, but… I found something."

"Really? What?"

Sonic pulled out the gold ring that he found and showed it to Tails.

"A… ring?"

"No, I found a **_Pool_ ** of Rings. A really small one." He said, slightly downcast.

"O-okay? What so interesting about-"

"It was **that** one, Tails."

As soon as Sonic said that, Tails' face went from surprised to sad.

"Oh, right. **That** one."

"You know what tomorrow is, right, buddy?"

"Huh…? OH MAN! I can't believe I forgot!"

"Oh, no worries man. If I hadn't come across that pool, I wouldn't have remembered either."

"Oh, Sonic! You're back!" Said a high voice.

" _(sigh)_ Hi, Amy."

Running up behind him with a cheery smile on her face and her arms outstretched was none other than Amy Rose. Without warning, she jumped upon the blue blur from behind, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him into a hug.

"Oo-o, whatcha got there?" She asked, noticing that Sonic was holding something, "I don't suppose it's a gift for your favorite pink hedgehog?"

"Nope, just a ring, Amy." Sonic responded plainly.

"Oh." She said deadpanned, releasing Sonic from her hug.

"It's from **that** pool, Amy." Said Tails. "You know, the one we told you about?"

"We don't suppose, that you remember what _tomorrow_ is, do you?" Asked Sonic.

"Hm, of course. How could I forget?" She said downcast but smiling slightly. "Have you called him yet, Sonic?"

"Not yet, but let's get right on that."

* * *

About an hour later, in G.U.N. H.Q., outside Central City, Shadow the Hedgehog had just left the mess hall with a small box in his hands. While he walked, he soon ran into one of his teammates, Rouge the Bat.

"Hey, Shadow. Whatcha got there?" Said Rouge pointing to the decorative box in his hands.

"It's none of your concern." Said Shadow.

Rouge sniffed the air and noticed a familiar scent.

"Is that… chocolate?"

"Never mind that. **Good**. **Day**."

With that, Shadow left Rouge there and continued on his way. Rouge couldn't help but watch him leave with a look of suspicion.

* * *

Back in New Mobotropolis, Sonic was at his house packing his bag. He had packed a snack, his guitar, flowers. All that was left was to collect one more thing. He walked over to his bed and looked underneath. He was about to reach for something when suddenly…

 _ **KNOCK KNOCK**_

Sonic retracted his hand, got up, and walked over to the door. Behind it was his good friend Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, smiling.

"Heya, Sugar-hog. Whata' y'all up to?" She asked

"Just packing for my trip tomorrow. Why?"

"Well, ah jus' thought that... _maybe_ you would'n mahnd if the rest of us tagged along?"

"… Is this coming from _you_ or Sally? Because I distinctly remember her asking me the **exact** same thing _last_ year."

"We're jus' curious. You, Amy, and Tails say yuh **each** hafta leave **tomorrow** , specifically. Why?"

"We all have our reasons for going where we're all going. I can't tell ya where the others are planning on going, no more than I can tell you where _I'm_ going. It's a secret."

" _(sigh)_ Ah was afraid y'all were gonna say that." She said in defeat. "Can't ya at least tell us **_why_ ** it's so important?"

"Afraid not. Sorry, and tell Sal sorry for me _too_ , okay?"

" _(sigh)_ Kay."

"Great, see ya around."

"See ya, Sugar-hog." She said as he closed the door.

With that, she made her way back to the castle where Princess Sally Acorn and Rotor Walrus were waiting.

* * *

"Well, anything?" Asked Sally as soon as Bunnie returned.

"That boy's locked up tighter than a box o' snakes. Got nuthin' outa him."

" _(sigh)_ Same with the other two. I don't get it. They all leave on the same day, but don't tell us **where** they're **going**."

"Maybe we should let it go, Sally." Suggested Rotor. "It's probably something personal. **So** personal, that they'd even not talk about it in the city at all, since Nicole doesn't seem to know anything either."

"Really, Nicole? Nothing?"

Instantly, Nicole the A.I. appeared in her hologram form before the others.

"I'm afraid not." She said upon appearing. "Whenever they speak of their trips, they never mention where they're going or **what** they're doing, and nothing in their homes reveals anything. The best I can tell you is that they each have a box under their beds, but they are not made of nanites and something is **preventing** my nanites from looking inside of them."

"Whatever it is that they don't want us to know, it must be **really** important to them that they keep it secret."

* * *

The next morning, the three heroes were saying their goodbyes but at different times of day. First Amy Rose, early in the morning. She left on foot heading North. Second was Tails, at noon. He flew off in his bi-plane heading South West. Finally, it was Sonic's turn. It was currently late in the afternoon, but he was still saying goodbye.

"I don't understand what could be so important that you can't even tell us where you're going." Said Sally, after giving a goodbye hug to her ex.

"Sorry, Sal. It's-"

"Personal. I know, but still."

"Maybe one of these days. Just... not now." Sonic looked out to the western wall that separated New Mobotropolis from the outside world, and took in a deep breath. "Well, better get to it. Don't wanna be late. Ha! What am I saying? See ya when I get back, guys."

He faced all of his friends and gave them his signature smile and thumbs up. Then he ran off, over the wall and straight forward, leaving his friends still wondering where the three of them have been going for the past three years that they knew them.

* * *

Sonic was running for about a couple hundred miles before turning around and running full speed do North East. He ran nonstop. Whenever he was thirsty or hungry, he would reach into his bag and pull out food or drink while running. He kept on running until he reached a beautiful valley, filled with green grass, flowers, and in the center, a circular stone platform of some sort, covered in strange markings.

After reaching the platform, he stopped at the base of the five steps that lead to the top and sat down on the first step. He reached into his bag and pulled out his guitar. He closed his eyes and started playing a solemn tune (Worth a chance, acoustic guitar version) whispering "Happy Birthday". He soon heard the sound of footsteps and looked to see someone approaching.

"I was wondering when you'd get here."

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of New Mobotropolis, an army was on the march, but this was not just _any_ army. This was an army made entirely out of **crystalized** Eggman robots. Deceased Metal Sonics, swat-bots, egg-pawns, etc. and the two at the very front looking over at their goal were the evil Ixis wizard, Ixis Naugus, holding a large magic wand that resembled a demonic claw with the purple chaos emerald at the top. Alongside him was his apprentice, the devoted Geoffrey St. John.

"Rest well tonight, my apprentice, come tomorrow, this city shall be mine."

* * *

The next day started out like any other. Children were playing outside, men and women were working at their jobs, and watching over it all was the city's creator and protector, Nicole. Granted, there were still those who were somewhat afraid of her after the Iron Dominion debacle; fortunately, with the help of her friends, she was coping. She then remembered something.

"That's right, Sonic and the others will be back at any moment."

With that, she instantly moved her hologram form from her current location to the city entrance, ready to greet her friends. However, when she used her nanites to look out to the distance, trying to see her friends, she had caught sight of something that was truly troubling. An army made entirely out of crystal, marching toward the city. Leading the charge were Ixis Naugus and Geoffrey St. John.

They hadn't seen Geoffrey since he shot Sonic in the back during their last trip to the Special Zone. The fact that he seemed to have joined forces with the conniving wizard only made things **more** troubling. Without delay, she left to inform the Freedom Fighters and the Counsel of Acorn of the situation.

* * *

Naugus and his army had just arrived before the gates of the city, ready to take it by force.

"I feel that I should remind you, _**sir**_ , that this is a bad idea." Said Geoffrey. "Taking the crown by force would only-"

"Silence, apprentice!" Exclaimed Naugus. "These people must see that I am not a being to be trifled with. I am the great Ixis Naugus, and I shall show these fools just what I am capable of. This city is nothing more than useless electronics. Once I rid it of the useless A.I. as well as the Freedom Fighters, everything else shall fall into place."

* * *

Soon, the Freedom Fighters had arrived on the scene to confront the evil wizard, followed by an army of Royal Guardsman.

"Ixis Naugus, how are you here?" Asked Sally.

"I assume you are referring to my current condition. Well, you have my apprentice, as well as the annoying quickster to thank for that. The emerald that was so generously given to me was most appreciated. And after my apprentice had informed me of all that had transpired here, I took it upon myself to raise up this army to aid me in taking back the city that rightfully belongs to me."

Once he finished with his announcement, he noticed something odd.

"Wait, where _is_ the quickster?"

Sonic, Amy, and Tails were still gone on their trip. They were scheduled to return home by then but they were still gone. They either were running late or they ran into their own problems. The bottom line was…

"They aren't here." Said Sally.

At first, Naugus looked surprised, but his expression soon shifted as he began to laugh at the fact that the greatest threat to him was not around.

"He's not here?!" He asked while laughing. "The fool chose the day to leave his home **poorly**! Now nothing shall stand in my way!"

"That isn't true, Naugus!" Nicole stated, projecting her hologram beside Sally. " **We** are here. Even without Sonic, we will stop you here and now."

"Ahhh, there you are! The pesky little A.I. running the city's nanites. My apprentice also informed me of _**you**_. How you once turned on your 'friends' and turned the city against the people."

"No…"

Nicole didn't need to see or hear any more. Using the nanites from the city's outer wall, Nicole entrapped Naugus and Geoffrey. Naugus was caught by the waist, and Geoffrey was trapped in some kind of glass bubble with air holes.

"I only turn it against threats like _you_. Please do not resist any further."

* * *

Does _this_ seem familiar? See StH #223

* * *

"Please," With a wave of his wand Naugus reduced the trap around his waist to crystal that shattered instantly. "such _**artificial**_ means cannot stand against _my_ crystalline magic. You hold **no** sway over me!"

"Nanites or not, well can **still** beat you." Stated Sally "Bunnie, Antoine, focus your attacks on the robots. With Geoffrey captured, he's no longer a-"

"Sally!" Exclaimed Nicole.

"—threat?"

At that moment, they watched as Geoffrey's body instantly turned to smoke and escaped through the air holes. His body then took its original form upon him arriving on the ground.

"I do _**not**_ enjoy doing that…" He said while stretching.

Everyone, except for Naugus, was shocked to see this.

"… An Ixis…" Said Sally. " _You're_ an… Since when are you an **Ixis Wizard**?!"

"Hah! Did you _**not**_ hear me when I called him my " **apprentice** "?" Stated Naugus. "I've trained him since he was but a child. Now, enough talk. I've come here to take back what **rightfully** belongs to _**me**_!"

Naugus then raised his wand skyward, and the purple gem atop it glowed bright.

"Now, my forces, attack the city and crush any and all who stand in your way! This day, the city falls to Ix-!"

 _ **KRACK KA-BOOM**_

Naugus couldn't finish his order because he was interrupted by the sound of an explosion from behind him. Turning around, he saw more explosions erupting from his crystal army. The reason; missiles. The cause; a blue biplane flying overhead, firing missiles upon them.

"Tails!" Exclaimed Sally, happy to see him.

"Fie! The quickster's sidekick! Attention, my army, strike down that-!"

 _ **PIKO-SMASH**_

 _ **PIKO-CRUSH**_

 _ **PIKO-CRASH**_

"Wha?!" Once again, he was interrupted by sounds of destruction.

In the distance, there was the sight of mostly crushed crystalized robots being flung through the air, and above the heads of robots **still** on the ground was the partial sight a something red, gold, and **big**.

"Amy!" Exclaimed Sally, once again happy to see another friend.

"Grrr…" Responded Naugus.

After much smashing and crushing, Amy finally made it to the front lines with her friends.

"Sorry for being late." Said Amy.

"Don't worry, Amy." Said Sally. "You and Tails are right on time."

"GAHHHHH! Enough of this! ATTACK!" Shouted Naugus.

The crystalized robots immediately began their attack, either firing other crystals at their enemies or using hand weapons and charging head on.

"SOLDIERS, TO ARMS! LET'S SHOW THIS FREAK SHOW AND THIS TRAITOR WHAT THE ROYAL GUARD IS MADE OF!" Shouted the Royal Guard captain.

The soldiers started rushing past the Freedom Fighters to meet the crystalized threat.

"Let's go Freedom Fighters! For our home!" Shouted Sally.

"Yeah!" Everyone shouted.

Antoine slashed, Amy smashed, Sally beat, Bunnie blasted, Tails fired, and Nicole had already activated the cities defenses. They were holding the enemy back, but they just kept coming.

"Apprentice, go and take of them for me." Ordered Naugus.

"Yes, sir." Geoffrey objectively agreed.

While Sally was busy destroying some old crystalized swat-bots, she didn't notice the puff of smoke that was quickly moving towards her, but Bunnie did.

"Sally, look out!" Warned Bunnie.

By the time Sally had turned around, Geoffrey was already about to engage her in close combat. That is, until he was knocked out of the sky by a big blue ball.

"Sonic!" Sally happily exclaimed.

"Sorry I'm late. I took a few wrong turns." He said before turning to face Geoffrey. "Hey there, traitor. So you stabbed, or in this case " _shot_ ", me in the back, and stole the emerald so that you could give it to _this_ clown? Congratulations, stinky. You're officially a traitor now."

"Not true!" Geoffrey claimed as he threw a kick at Sonic, who just jumped out of the way easily. "My loyalty has always been to my king and country!"

"Funny, I doubt Elias would approve of you attacking our city with _gruesome_ over there."

"I'm talking about the **true** king!"

"You're not making any sense!" Exclaimed Sally.

"Aren't I? Or do you just not _**want** _ me to—?"

 _ **KRACK KA-BOOM**_

"— _Dah_!" Before Geoffrey could finish his sentence, Tails had blown up more crystalized soldiers who were directly behind him, startling him and making him lose his footing, causing him to fall over.

"You were saying, Skunky?" Said Sonic.

"Sonic, watch out!" Warned Sally before leaping around him to deliver a lethal kick to another crystalized soldier.

"Thanks for the save, Sal."

Watching his army not make any headway, Naugus had had enough. Raising his chaos emerald infused wand high into the air, he took aim. It might cost him a few of his forces, but that was just a small price to pay if it meant annihilating his greatest foe. Getting rid of the princess would be a charming bonus.

"My apprentice!" He called out to Geoffrey. "Stand clear!"

Hearing the call of his master, Geoffrey used his magic to turn into a smoke cloud. He then made his way through the battlefield to join his master's side.

"Now, let us see how well you can run on **ice** , quickster!" Naugus gave out a hardy laugh.

Ice magic suddenly shot out of the emerald on Naugus' wand. Before Sonic or Sally knew it, they were fighting on ice.

"W-what? W-whoa!"

"Uh-oh!"

Since they were both taken by surprise by this, it quite easy for the both of them to lose their footing and fall.

"Oof!" They both said.

"I know I've said 'I hate **water**.' a bunch of times, but _**ice**_ is starting to make the list, too."

"Sonic look!" Sonic followed Sally's lead and saw that the crystalized soldiers that they were fighting were all falling as well.

"Guess _they're_ not big fans of it, either."

Geoffrey was unsure of how this was supposed to help them.

"Sir, what exactly was the point of _that_?" He asked.

"Watch and learn, Geoffrey, my boy." Said Naugus.

Once again, he raised his wand high into the air. He kept it there and focused as much magic as he could summon, tapping **deep** into the magic within himself, focusing it all into the wand. Sonic and Sally were just **now** about to regain their footing on the ice, but they found it difficult to do so on their own, so they had to hold onto each other for support.

"Now, quickster, you and your precious princess shall **perish**!" Giving out an even hardier laugh than before, Naugus shot out his magic in the form of a giant ball of fire that only grew the further it reached.

"Sonic, we have to move!" Warned Sally.

"I can't, I have no traction!" Said Sonic.

Looking around them, they saw more crystalized soldiers. Some **on** the ice, more standing **off** of it. If Sonic were to attempt to throw her, she would no doubt fall into the clutches of the enemy. Sonic hadn't even noticed that Nicole was already sending her nanites out to assist them. As he looked Sally in the eyes, his mind flashed back to the most traumatic moment in his life. Sally then noticed Sonic wearing a look of sheer determination as he turned to face Naugus' attack. Nicole was mere nanoseconds away from protecting them, but the wall of nanites suddenly froze as soon as she suddenly picked up a sudden change in the directional wind currents, as well as… something going on with Sonic. Sonic held onto Sally with one arm and reached his other out, as if he **wanted** to touch Naugus' attack.

"Sonic?" Sally questioned.

The fire attack was just a second away from roasting the both of them. Nicole sent her nanites again, but before they could intervene…

"Tornado!"

… Everyone turned to Sonic and Sally, and were shocked to see a tornado appear out of nowhere. The tornado sucked in the fire as it continued to move forward from where Sonic and Sally stood.

" _Gah_!" Exclaimed Naugus as he saw the flaming tornado make its way toward him and his apprentice.

"Master!" Exclaimed Geoffrey.

They both quickly got out of the way and let the tornado pass. As it did so, they noticed that it began to get smaller and smaller before disappearing. Everyone stopped when they saw this, even the crystalized soldiers, but that was just because Naugus was _so_ shocked that he had unintentionally made them. Everyone then turned to look at the only things standing where the tornado came from. One of those two, Sally, was just staring at Sonic. She wasn't sure what she had just witnessed, but when she _did_ , her mind flashed back to when she saw something similar during her vacation days spent on Angel Island as a child.

"Sonic?"

Sonic turned to look at her, she looked so surprised. He turned to look at everyone else, they all looked so shocked, except for two others, Tails, who was circling overhead, and Amy. The both of them just stared at Sonic with looks of surprise mixed with worry. Sonic then lowered his head, sighed, and then lowered his hand. All of a sudden, the ice around him and Sally melted, and the crystal soldiers began to rise, but they just stood there, awaiting further orders.

"Sir?" Said Geoffrey.

"That… wasn't me…" Said Naugus, "but that was… but it **couldn't** have been… But if it _was_ , then… that would make… the quickster… No… No-no! I refuse to believe that! He is **not** an **Ixis wizard**!"

Those last two words echoed loud throughout the battlefield. This only made most of everyone even **more** confused and worried.

"Soldiers! Destroy them! Destroy them **all**!"

The crystalized soldiers did as they were told. Antoine was taken completely off guard when a soldier jumped him from behind, crystallized claws at the ready to strike him down. Bunnie noticed this and was quick to act.

"Antoine!"

" _Ahh_!" Screamed Antoine.

Bunnie reacted by extending her arm and taking it out. Around Sonic and Sally, the soldiers were about to attack them all at once. Sonic reacted by running around Sally, taking them all out at once. Naugus saw this, which only infuriated him more.

 _ **KRACK KA-BOOM**_

The sound of Tails using the missiles fired from his biplane caught Naugus' attention. He then decided focus his anger on _him_. Using the wind, Naugus flew up into the sky to meet Tails' biplane.

"Whoa!" Tails said in surprise when he caught sight of Naugus flying in front of him.

"I shall sooth my anger by doing away with **_you_**!" Said Naugus.

With a wave of his wand, Naugus turned half of Tails' biplane into crystal, ruining its flight capabilities.

"Oh-no!" Exclaimed Tails as he tried desperately to get his plane to so much as glide; unfortunately, it's difficult to do so when the wings are made out of jagged crystal.

"Tails!" Sonic dashed forward full speed trying to think of a way to help him.

Tails tried to eject, but that too proved useless. Even the **seatbelt** was crystal. Tails tried to reach for something sharp to cut or chip his way free, but the surface was drawing closer by the second. Before Tails could do something else that popped into his mind, he soon realized that he had stopped falling. Sonic stopped and looked at what was ahead of him. It was a giant hand made of rock. Sonic turned around and saw Amy with one hand resting her hammer on her shoulder, and her other hand outstretched toward Tails' plane.

"No. No. NOOOO…!" Screamed Naugus while Sonic spin-dashed Tails out of his half-crystal plane. "Lies and trickery! That must be it! You can't be one of us! I refuse to believe it!"

The acorn forces were having a hard time focusing of fighting with everything that was going on. Amy saw this and knew that if something wasn't done, then it would **surely** cost them their lives. She then made her hammer disappear, threw her arms up, and then brought them back down while falling to her knees so that her fists would collide with the earth.

"Earthquake!" She shouted.

The next thing that anyone knew, a great earthquake happened. It was enough to throw everyone into the air, crystalized soldiers included. They all fell back down with great force. While the people were mostly fine, all of the crystal soldiers that were thrown up by the earthquake shattered as they hit the ground. Amy looked around and saw the crystal carnage that she had caused, until her eyes fell on a crystalized Metal Sonic arm attempting to drag itself across the ground. Her response to this was re-summoning her hammer and smashing it to shards. Geoffrey just… stared. It was all that he _could_ do.

"W-what is going on here?" He asked silently before shouting. "What is happening?! How can _they_ have **Ixis** magic?!"

"How **indeed**?" Naugus said through gritted teeth. "How?!"

As more crystalized soldiers charged into battle, the only ones responding to this were Sonic, Amy, and Tails. Sonic spin-dashed, Amy piko-smashed, and Tails tail-spun them all to shards. Naugus had had enough, he charged head first, encasing the emerald end of his wand in crystal, turning it into a crystal spear. Tails caught sight of this and charged to warn his big brother.

"Sonic, watch out!" Shouted Tails.

Sonic turned around just in time to see and dodge Naugus' attack. But Naugus wasn't finished, for he continued to try and strike Sonic down.

"How can you do this?!" He shouted. "You are not Ixis wizards, so how are you doing this?!"

As soon as Naugus had thrown another strike, Sonic grabbed ahold of the wand.

"None… of your… beeswax!" Said Sonic while struggling to force Naugus back.

"I can understand your need to keep the truth form _us_ , but what about _them_?" Geoffrey said as he approached them.

Hearing Geoffrey's words, Sonic, Amy, and even _Tails_ looked around them. With most of the crystal foes dealt with, they could clearly see everyone's faces. They were filled with worry mixed with confusion, and maybe even some… fear. Geoffrey saw that everyone was distracted by this, and readied a bolt to shoot at Sonic, just like the night he betrayed him in the Special Zone. Tails turned to look at Sonic but instead saw Geoffrey taking aim at him. Geoffrey saw Tails looking at him, and tried to fire his bolt before he could warn everyone.

"SONIC, WATCH OUT!" Tails shouted in fear for his brother's safety, throwing his arm out.

The next thing that happened was the bolt making contact and piercing something. Its head was poking out of the other side of a crystal wall, mere inches away from Sonic's head. Everyone stared at the wall in shock, sans for Amy and Sonic, who only looked on in worry, and then to Tails.

"T-Tails?!" Questioned Sally in shock.

"I-I'm… sorry… I… I was just…"

"Zut alor!" Exclaimed Antoine.

"What in tarnation?" Exclaimed Bunnie.

"Wait! Just listen! We can explain everything later!" Exclaimed Tails, hoping they would understand.

"I demand it…" Naugus opened his mouth so that Sonic could see the orange light coming from the back of his throat. "NOOOOOOWWWWW!"

As Naugus said that last word, fire erupted from his mouth. Sonic was able to duck at the last minute and dash away. Unfortunately, the tips of his spines were now charcoal black and smoking.

"Answer me, Quickster, **now**!" Demanded Naugus, pointing an accusing finger at him and his friends. "How did you acquire this power?! Tell me! I demand to know! You are not even Ixis wizards!"

"No, he's not!" Came a deep voice from beside Naugus.

Everyone turned and saw Shadow the Hedgehog standing before them, holding a crystalized Metal Sonic Trooper head.

"He's only a fool, who after all this time, has finally managed to **break** an unbreakable vow." Said Shadow, crushing the head into shards upon saying the word "break".

Shadow approached them with an angered expression on his face.

"Sh-Shadow." Tails quietly said.

"Not another word, Tails."

" **You**. The one who resembles the **quickster**." Said Naugus. "I have no quarrel with you. **Leave** or else I will—"

"No." Shadow interrupted Naugus. " _You_ leave. What I have to say doesn't concern you, Naugus."

" _Bah_ , I demand answers and I demand them—"

"You are the last of a practically **extinct** order. Do not make me make it **truly** extinct."

"How **dare** you! I am Ixis Naugus, Master of the Elements and Supreme Power over the Ixis Magicks! With my chaos emerald wand in hand, not even the self-proclaimed **Ultimate Lifeform** can match me, and I'll **prove** it!"

Naugus then raised his wand high and readied a spell.

"I'll show **you** what a Supreme Ixis Wizard is capable of!"

 _ **POW**_

Before Naugus could do anything else, Shadow threw a quick, and rather strong punch at Naugus' gut, knocking the wind out of him. It was enough to throw him a few feet away.

"Master!" Exclaimed Geoffrey before making his way over to him.

By the time he got there, Naugus was clutching his gut, groaning in pain.

" _Hmph_ , pathetic." Shadow's words caught Naugus' attention. "You call yourself a 'Supreme Ixis Wizard', but you've barely scratched the surface of your power. You are nothing more than a pitiful excuse for a sorcerer."

Naugus gritted his teeth at this.

"And by the way, my team is currently cleaning up the rest of your forces over that hill."

Naugus looked surprised to hear this.

"H-how?"

" _Hm_?"

"How did you—?"

Shadow did not respond, all that he did was turn and walk towards Sonic.

" _Grrr_ … Let us go, apprentice."

"Right-o, sir." Said Geoffrey as he helped his master to his feet.

"Wait!" Called Sally.

Nicole was able to shake out of her shocked state and remember what was happening; unfortunately, it was too late. As soon as Naugus touched the wall's shadow, he and Geoffrey both vanished into it. As Sally saw this, she was then reminded of something from when she was a child.

"He… got away, Sally." Said Nicole. "I-I… I'm sorry… I was…"

"It… It's alright Nicole."

With the villains gone, everyone was finally free to look at the ones who caught their attention the most. Shadow approached Sonic.

"Shadow, let me explain…" Sonic began. "It-It was Sally. If I didn't, she would've-!"

Shadow raised a hand, and as shocking as it was to believe, that alone managed to silence him. The next thing that happened caught everyone off guard. Shadow raised his hand to the side of his own face and in one swift motion…

 _ **SMACK**_

… smacked Sonic's. The smacking sound echoed throughout the area. For a whole minute, everything was silent.

"Look what you've done." Said Shadow after a whole minute. "After all these years—"

"It wasn't his fault, Shadow!" Called Amy.

"If Sonic didn't do something," said Tails, "then he and Sally would've—"

"That alone, doesn't make it right." Said Shadow.

Again, everything was silent for a single minute.

"Doesn't it?" Asked Tails.

Shadow only glared at him.

"It also didn't give _you_ two the right to break it as well."

Tails and Amy then lowered their heads shamefully.

"Don't blame _them_ , Shadow." Said Sonic. "It was _my_ fault."

For a second or two, Shadow stared at Sonic with a look of angered disappointment.

"Yes, it is." Shadow agreed.

"Shadow, it's Rouge." Rouge's voice spoke to Shadow via the mini earpiece in his right ear.

Shadow turned his head and pressed a button on the earpiece before speaking into it.

"Report, Rouge."

"We're all done here. Every last one of them, nothing but piles of shiny worthless crystals. And I believe me when I say 'worthless'. I checked."

"Understood. On my way back."

"Um… Shadow? Why did we need to come here, aga—?"

Shadow took the earpiece out of his ear before walking away.

"Wait, Shadow…!" Sonic called. "Shadow, wait…! Shadow…!"

Shadow just kept walking.

"TENEBRIS!"

This made Shadow stop as well as made Sally once again go wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, okay?! But I couldn't just let her die! Isn't that what _Mom_ would've wanted?!"

In the length of three whole seconds, Shadow turned to glare at Sonic, vanished in a flash of green light, and reappeared before Sonic to grab him by the neck, hoisting him up off of the ground.

"How… **DARE** YOU ATTEMPT TO USE MOTHER AS A SCAPEGOAT!"

"I'm, sorry… but I…"

"YOU _**WHAT**_ , VENTUS?!"

"Stop it, Tenebris!" Shouted Amy. "You know it's true! Momma wouldn't want us to just let a friend die! You of all people should know that much, given your experiences."

Shadow's eyes widened from hearing this. He dropped Sonic, and turned to Amy.

"First _he_ brings up Mother, now _**you**_ dare bring up _Maria_?"

"Shadow… **Tenebris** …" Amy didn't continue speaking until a whole three seconds after. "What would _you_ have done if _you_ were here to see him fall?"

Amy nudged her head to gesture to Tails.

"…"

Shadow couldn't think of a retort. Instead, he just turned and walked away again.

"Please try to understand, Tenebris."

"Forget it, Ames" Said Sonic, recovering from Shadow's assault on his throat. "Let him leave. That's all he ever does."

As Shadow walked toward the horizon, he caught sight of his teammates making their way towards him.

"Shadow, what the heck?!" Complained Rouge. "I was trying to talk to you, but you didn't respond back!"

"I took out my earpiece."

"I thought something happened to you!"

"I'm fine."

"Why are the Acorn Royal Guard arresting Sonic?" Asked Omega.

"What?!" Exclaimed Shadow.

Turning around, he could clearly see the large uniformed bears taking Sonic into custody.

"Oh, no."

"I don't think it's just Sonic." Said Rouge.

It was then that Shadow noticed the bears _also_ arresting Tails and Amy.

"Oh, no… no-no-no!"

Once everyone was inside the city walls, Shadow held the side of his head in worry as the gates shut behind them.

"Shadow?" Questioned Rouge.

"Ventus, look what you've gotten them all into."


	3. Chapter 2

Sonic, Amy, and Tails stood before the Council of Acorn, their arms bound in chains. Many of the citizens of New Mobotropolis were packed inside of the castle, watching intently, while everyone else in the city watched from home on their TC's (Telecrates) for this was sure to be the trial of the century for the very ones who were on trial were the two hedgehogs and two-tailed fox aforementioned.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Miles "Tails" Prower," King Elias began, "You three stand accused of being that which has been deemed illegal by the current King, myself, and still stands as illegal, now, under the joined jurisdiction of the Council of Acorn. You have been accused of being… **Ixis wizards**."

"How do you plead?" Asked Hamlin.

None of them said a word. Sally looked at them, expecting… or perhaps, more like **hoping** , that _Sonic_ , at least, would say something. But none of them said a word. They merely kept their heads down, not looking at anyone. Sally sighed in defeat and walked up in front of them.

"My clients plead 'Not Guilty', your majesty." She said to her brother. "I, Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, have volunteered to represent them as their defense attorney."

The council responded to this by looking at one another for a moment.

"Though it is true that, as citizens of the Kingdom of Acorn, they have the right to an attorney…" Said King Elias.

"An heiress to the throne cannot represent a defendant!" Exclaimed Hamlin.

"Actually, there is nothing in the constitution that denies the princess the right to _act_ as defense." Said Sir Charles.

"Given Sally's skills and knowledge in such fields, I believe that she has the proper requirements and capabilities to be allowed to act as defense." Said Rotor.

"All in favor of allowing the princess to act as the defendants' attorney?" Asked Elias.

"Yay." Said Rotor, raising his hand.

"Yay." Said Dylan, raising his hand.

"Yay." Said Sir Charles, raising his hand.

"Nay." Said Hamlin, grimacing while raising his hand.

"Nay." Said Penelope, raising her hand.

"Yay." Said Rosemary, raising her hand.

"Yay. Then the motion is carried." Said King Elias. "Let us continue on with the trial. We have numerous eye witness accounts from the Royal Guard, that these three were seen using Ixis magic, an illegal practice, during the battle that took place yesterday."

"I would like to inform the council that my clients have always served the kingdom, **and** the world." Said Sally. "While doing so, they have **all** been exposed to numerous forms of magic, one of them being **chaos** energy. As we all know, chaos is very unpredictable with unpredictable side effects. Clearly these new abilities that my clients have demonstrated yesterday **are** such side effects."

"The council would like to request Nicole's presence at this time." Said Hamlin.

Nicole's hologram form instantly manifested itself before everyone.

"Care to show us exactly what happened on the battlefield, yesterday?" Hamlin grinned as he said this.

Nicole, though hesitantly, then brought up multiple viewing screens. On each of these screens was a scene from the replay of the battle with Naugus' crystal soldiers. On the first screen was the scene were Sonic and Sally were struggling to stand on ice as Naugus' fire attack came their way.

" **First** , Sonic summoned a tornado from his hand." Said Hamlin as the screen showed Sonic preforming the act, sucking up the fireball in the process.

The screen then fast-forwarded to when Sonic lowered his hand and the ice beneath their feet suddenly melted.

" **Then** there was when the ice melted beneath the two of you not long after Sonic… 'coincidentally' lowered his hand."

One the second screen was the scene were Tails was falling out of the sky in his partially crystalized biplane, the Tornado.

"Next is when my son, Tails, was falling out of the sky thanks to Naugus' magic, and suddenly, a giant hand made out of rock appeared to catch his plane before it hit the ground." Said Rosemary as the screen showed this happening. "The only clues that linked the cause to the defendant, Amy Rose, was the fact that her _own_ hand seemed to be mimicking the rock hand, _and_ when she seemed to create an earthquake _after_ making her hammer disappear."

The screen then fast-forwarded to show Amy slamming her fists onto the ground, creating the earthquake.

"We mustn't forget about your son's part in this **either** , Rosemary." Said Penelope, making Rosemary advert her eyes in nervousness.

The _**third**_ screen showed Tails throwing his arms out, creating the crystal wall.

" _He_ was seen using _**crystalline**_ magic, an ability that we have only seen **Naugus** perform."

"Do the defendants have anything to say in their defense?" Asked King Elias.

Still, none of them said anything. Tails and Amy looked somewhat ashamed, but neither of them even so much as looked up. Sonic, on the other hand, was thinking back to last night.

* * *

FLASHBACK

Sonic, Tails, and Amy were each being kept in neighboring holding cells. Sonic and Tails' families came in earlier to try and speak with them. While Amadeus Prower and Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog promised their sons that they wouldn't stay in those cells for long, Rosemary Prower and Sir Charles Hedgehog told them that they only wanted to get everything straightened out, but still told them that they had the utmost faith that everything would turn out alright. Unfortunately, all three of them kept their backs to the cell doors, not saying word.

Sonic was leaning against the wall that separated his and Tails' cells. Amy was leaning against the wall that separated _hers_ and Tails' cells. Tails was alternating between the two walls of his cell. After the parents had eventually given up trying to talk to the three of them and left, the next to come and visit them were the Freedom Fighters; unfortunately, they were met with same reaction. One by one, they left until the last one to leave was Sally. But she didn't leave… she **couldn't** leave, not until she was sure.

"Sonic?" She asked, receiving no reaction. "Does the name… 'Little Acorn' mean anything to you?"

It was at that moment that she had noticed one of Sonic's ears twitch and his head slightly jerk up. To her, that was all that she needed.

"I promise you, I am going to do everything that I can to make sure that you get out of here."

* * *

Sonic kept thinking back to when she said that and couldn't stop. The trial went on for hours and Sonic, Amy, and Tails had said nothing throughout it. Sally was at the end of her rope. She had done everything that she could possibly think of, but the evidence and eye witness accounts were too overwhelming. She couldn't think of any possible way to prove their innocence. The more obvious that her struggling became, the more worried her friends became. However, Antoine blamed Sonic for Sally needing to struggle so much. If Sonic could only explain what he did _himself_ , then everything would be fine, right? Or at least, that would probably help. Unfortunately, throughout this entire trial, the three defendants neither said nor did anything.

"Uh… my, er… clients would like to… state that…" Sally began, but she couldn't think of what to say to defend her friends.

"Sonic!" Exclaimed Antoine, who was tired of watching Sonic stare at his shoes instead of speaking to help Sally defend him. "Stop with zee staring at zee floor and say something!"

"Antoine!" Exclaimed Bunnie in surprise.

"Mr. D'Coolette, you **will** be silent—!" Warned Rosemary, but Antoine wasn't listening.

"After everything zat Sally has been doing zis whole time for _**you**_ , and you don't so much as say a word to help her!"

"Guards, please escort Commander D'Coolette—" Said Elias before he was interrupted by Antoine's outburst.

"For zee heaven's sake! Say something!"

"Get him out of here!" Penelope loudly ordered.

"Tell them zat you are not zee monstaîr zey think you are!" It was at this time that Bunnie tried to get her husband to go with her outside the room. "Tell zem zat you three are **not** zose vile, villainous, evil…"

As Antoine continued to state his thoughts about Ixis Wizards, Tails felt a great deal of impatience welling up inside of him as horrible memories of childhood nightmares flashed into his mind.

"… treacherous…!" Bunnie along with a few guards were now trying desperately to get Antoine out of the room. "… despicable…! **Monstrous**!"

"STOP IT!"

Tails had had enough. He threw out his hands and in an instant, large, green crystals emerged out of the ground before Antoine, Bunnie, and everyone around them. His handcuffs were also turned to crystal and then shattered as he threw his hands out. For the first time since the incident during the battle against Naugus, Sonic, Amy, and Tails all had their heads up.

"Antoine!" Exclaimed Sonic.

"Bunnie!" Exclaimed Amy.

Sonic quickly zoomed passed the guards that surrounded him, then around the crystals that Tails had summoned to make sure that his friends were alright. He released a huge sigh of relief when he saw that they were all in one piece, despite the fact that Antoine was hyperventilating and everyone else was backing away from Sonic, looking at him with fear.

"S-Sonic!" Called a terrified Tails. "A-Are they…?!"

"They're fine, bud!" Sonic called back. "Just shaken up… among other things, I bet."

Sonic then made his way back to him and Amy. Tails was quite shaken _himself_ , as well as everyone else in the city that saw this.

"I-I'm sorry…" Tails fell to his knees as tears of extreme guilt started to well up in his eyes while Amy held him trying her best help him.

"Miles!" Exclaimed Rosemary, forgetting about legal protocol, and hurrying to her son's side.

"Son!" Exclaimed Amadeus, doing the same.

"I-I'm so… **so** sorry…!" Tails was full-on crying as his parents, as well as Amy, were now attempting to tend to him. "I… I didn't mean to…"

"Hey, Tails. It's okay—" Sonic consoling words were interrupted by Tails' mother.

"Stay away from him!" Rosemary shouted at Sonic.

"What?!"

"M-mom?!" Asked Tails.

"I don't know how or why, but I just know that _**you**_ are the **cause** of all this!" Rosemary shouted again.

"How **dare** you!" Exclaimed Bernadette Hedgehog as Sonic's family approached.

"Bernie, dear, please calm down." Said Jules, attempting to calm his wife.

"'Calm down'? 'Calm down', Jules?! This woman blames our son for something _hers_ clearly did, and you want me to 'calm down'?!"

"Getting worked up over a few harsh words aren't going to help us at this point, Bernie." Said Sir Charles as he approached.

"If 'harsh words' aren't enough," said Rosemary as she arose and approached the Hedgehogs, "I have a few _more_ choice words for your boy."

"You dare, and I swear you'll regret it!" Said Bernadette, approaching Rosemary.

"Speak to me like that again, and I'll bring _you_ up on charges!"

"Your position of political power doesn't give you the right to accuse my son of **anything**!"

"Actually, it does, and the way _I_ see it, the _**only**_ one who should be standing here on trial is _your_ son!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Your boy has _**always**_ been dragging ours on his adventures. What he's currently able to do is no doubt a result of that! My Tails is a victim of _your_ son's irresponsibility!"

"If you think I am just going to stand here and—!"

"Enough! Both of you!" The sound of the King's voice roared after he appeared between them, making them both stop their argument.

"Your majesty, please spare our son." Pleaded Rosemary. "I know that it **isn't** his fault. This can only be **Sonic's** doing."

Jules and Sir Charles had to cover Bernadette's mouth to keep her from saying anything that could get her arrested.

"Interesting accusation…" said Hamlin as _he_ approached from behind the king, "coming from the **mother** of the one who **cast** the magic."

"What are you implying?"

"How do we know that Tails' abilities are not **genetic** or family **trained**?"

" _ **You're**_ accusing _**me**_ of being an **Ixis** wizard?!"

"Or perhaps your _husband_? How do we know that you **both** aren't withholding important information from the council? And let's not forget about Amy's and _Sonic's_ families."

"After everything that all of us have been through since the first Robotnik War," Sir Charles said angrily, "you **dare** accuse our families of being part such a **disgraceful** cult?"

"The Hedgehogs and the Prowers could be wizards like Naugus?!" Said a random spectator.

"Who else has been lying to us?!" Said another.

All around them, Amy, Tails, and Sonic could hear all kinds of paranoid accusations being thrown around the room. People were suspecting their fellow **citizens** of being Ixis wizards. Tails clung to Amy nervously. Amy wanted to comfort him, but she too was also feeling quite anxious. Sonic noticed this and had had enough!

"ENOUGH!" He shouted, throwing out this hands as far as they could go while chained, making a gust of wind blow in all directions, silencing the whole room. "WE ARE THE ONLY WIZAAAAAARRRRRDS!"

For five whole seconds, everyone was in silent shock before Hamlin grinned victoriously.

"Yes! A confession!" He then pointed to the Hedgehog and Prower families. " **Guards**! Place them **all** under arrest!"

"What?!" The two families said in unison.

"You can't do that." Said Sonic.

"Why not?" Asked Hamlin.

"Because they _**aren't**_ our **real** blood parents!"

Sonic's last words rang out and echoed through the hall. Everyone was just shocked to hear this. The two mothers held their mouths in shock, for even though they both knew that it was true, to hear her own **son** blurt it out so loudly so that **everyone** could hear it, Bernadette couldn't help but be shocked as did Rosemary. Rosemary refocused her vision on _her_ son, who didn't look the least bit surprised that the secret that he had **begged** them to keep for three years since they adopted him had just been exposed.

Meanwhile, during all of this drama, Team Dark had been watching the entire trial from above. Shadow had Rouge make up an excuse to the Commander as to why they weren't back yet.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting _**that**_." Commented Rouge. "What about _you_ , Shad—"

Rouge stopped speaking when she realized that her partner was nowhere to be seen. She then angrily pressed the button on her mini earpiece and spoke into it.

"Where **are** you?!"

"I'm… busy." Shadow responded. "Just let me know if something interesting happens."

"Sonic just shouted to everyone that neither _he_ nor Tails are related to their families."

"What?!"

Suddenly, the line went dead.

"Hello…? **Shadow**?!" She then angrily removed her earpiece. "He does this to me **one** more time, **I** am gonna…"

She finished her angered statement with an angry, strained groan and then focused back on the events at hand. Sonic's angered expression then changed into a saddened one as he lowered his head for a second.

"B-but…" Said Penelope. "But I've seen baby pictures of the both of you in their houses."

"They're fake." Tails confessed. "I doctored the photos myself. Sonic and I have only known the Prowers and the Hedgehogs for three years."

As everyone stared in silence, Sonic turned to look at Nicole, whose holographic form was still physically in the vicinity.

"Nicole?" He asked her with a solemn tone. "These cuffs are made out of nanites, right?"

"Y-yes, they are," she answered, "but… w-why—?"

"I'm sorry, Nicole. Believe me when I say that I hate to do this." Sonic then turned to Tails. "Tails?"

Tails lowered his head and said not a word. Suddenly, Sonic and Amy's handcuffs were turned into crystal and then shattered.

"They're escaping!" Shouted Hamlin. "Stop them!"

"Guys!" Sonic turned to the pink hedgehog and yellow, two-tailed fox. "Grab on!"

Amy and Tails both grabbed ahold of Sonic's arms. Sonic, with the two of them in tow, then dashed off to a random wall.

"Amy, I need you to break that wall down!" Ordered Sonic.

"R-right!" Amy said nervously, readying her hammer.

"Nicole! Stop them!" Hamlin shouted.

Suddenly, just as they were in striking distance of the wall…

 _ **CRASH**_

… something burst in through said wall, knocking the three of them back. As they got to their feet, they suddenly realized that the one who was preventing them from leaving was Shadow, who appeared to be holding three cardboard boxes. The sounds of footsteps caught their attention and looked around to see the Royal Guard surrounding them. Suddenly, two things fell down from the ceiling. One was big and the other was small. It was Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega of Team Dark.

"Great timing, Shadow." Commented Rouge. "So you dragged us here just to keep an eye on these three so they wouldn't escape. I never pegged you as the kind of guy to care about things that don't concern you. Oh, well."

With a shrug of her shoulders, she approached three on the floor.

"Omega, break out the old-fashioned cuffs. Guess Shadow wants us to make sure these three don't go any—"

 _ **VREE-POW**_

Rouge was interrupted by something hitting her in the face, stopping her approach. Omega turned to respond to this immediately, but as soon as soon as he focused on the speeding object, he hesitated, giving the one responsible for disabling Rouge time to grab him by the arm, flip over his shoulder, and slam him onto his head, into the ground. Then, the individual started taking out the Royal Guard, one by one. As soon as they were all taken out, the individual returned to his position before the three wizards. Rouge quickly recovered from the attack, as did Omega, and they both looked at the individual who had attacked them.

"Sh-Shadow?!" Rouge couldn't believe what she had just seen.

Shadow stood before all of them as they looked at him in fear, waiting to see what he would do next. The Freedom Fighters were waiting for Sally to give the word to attack, but Sally wanted to see what it was that he wanted. Shadow just stood before all of them, eyeing them all menacingly before speaking.

"Don't any of you **dare** touch my family."

Once again… **shock**. Shock was all that anyone felt, sans the three wizards. Shadow then approached his family, the three wizards, and stood before them.

"Shadow." Said Amy, but Shadow simply raised a hand to silence her.

"I don't suppose any of you can remember how old we are?" He asked them.

"Beats me." Said Sonic, looking at the ground.

"Same." Said Amy, adverting her eyes.

Tails didn't answer, but Shadow could tell that not even _he_ knew.

"Regardless," Shadow started, "we have been around for quite some time now… I guess it was only a matter of time until **this** happened."

For a second, silence.

"You were right, Amy. I perhaps would've done the same thing if I were in a similar situation."

"Perhaps it was for the best." Suggested Amy, looking at Shadow. "We couldn't **truly** keep this secret forever."

Suddenly, something had collided with Sonic's face. It was one of the cardboard boxes that Shadow was holding. Sally remembered that Nicole mentioned that the three of them had cardboard boxes that weren't made of nanites stashed under their beds. Shadow then proceeded to toss the other two boxes to Amy and Tails.

"The time has come." Said Shadow. "Put them on and let's go. Mine is back at G.U.N. H.Q. We can pick it up after we leave."

"Leave to where?" Asked Amy.

Shadow didn't say a word. He instead walked over to the hole in the wall and leaned against it as the nanites' auto-repair programming continued to make it smaller and smaller. The three of them then arose from the floor, opened their boxes, and removed a single item from inside of each of them before closing them. They all removed the same thing from each of their boxes, a maroon, hooded robe with golden designs and symbols sewn into it. The three wizards dawned theses robes, leaving their hoods off, and walked over to Shadow.

"W-what is everyone just standing around for?!" Asked Hamlin. "Someone! Anyone! Arrest them!"

But no one did anything except for Sally.

"Wait!" She called to them. "Don't go!"

"Sorry, Sal, but we have to." Said Sonic.

"Our secret has been revealed." Said Tails. "I'm sorry, but… we can't stay."

"I guess this is… goodbye then." Said Amy, sadly.

"But…! But…!"

"Y-Your majesty!" Exclaimed Hamlin. "Are you just going to let them leave?!"

But Elias didn't say a word.

"Your majesty!"

Again, nothing. As the three wizards walked over to join Shadow beside the hole, which was already halfway fixed, Sally approached. It wasn't until Shadow was about to leave with the three of them, that he noticed her.

"Shadow."

"Hm?"

"… I have so many questions that need answered… Please."

Shadow wanted to leave, but looking at the princess, he couldn't just leave her like this. He then turned his head before speaking to the whole room and though unintentionally, to everyone who was watching at home.

"Come back here tomorrow. We will reveal everything before we leave… for good." With that, Shadow turned around, used his chaos spears to take out the lights above, and said one last thing to Sally. "Every gardener feels so much pride when his favorite 'Little Acorn' becomes a great, strong, beautiful oak tree."

 _ **Whoosh**_

Once the last traces of sunlight were no longer upon the three wizards, Shadow waved his hand, and they all vanished into the shadows. Sally stood there, once again… shocked.


End file.
